Pot of Potatoes

One of the many pots I've used this year has potatoes, among other things growing in it.  As you may be able to tell from the picture, it also has mint, beans, and corn.

The potatoes are growing so fast though that the other plants, besides the mint, are not keeping up.

The pot is pretty deep though so I'm hoping that at least I'll have some nice potatoes after the season is over.  

They were started from a potato that I hadn't gotten around to cooking that had started forming eyes.

Adorable Little Russet Potato

So cute!

I've never grown potatoes before but I thought I'd give it a shot.  This guy was sticking out of the ground a little so I went ahead and pulled him up.  He had a brother who was no bigger than my pinky finger tip so I buried him again to hopefully keep growing.

So far my garden hasn't grown a lot of food but I'm tickled pink to get this guy.  Who knows how much more is growing under the dirt.  Only time will tell and the plants aren't entirely died back yet so there's a chance for more potatoes in my future.

So far the other plants that have grown well and were usable are:

Bell Peppers (several small ones, way better than last year)

Green Onions (they've kept going and are now almost double in number)

Basil (still growing and have used in several dishes that needed it)

Kabucha Squash (although no fruit, we've made squash blossom quesadillas)

Still waiting to see if the carrots or corn plants will be at all productive.  There are currently 2 cobs developing still but very small and the carrots are visible but barely a root.

Snow Peas

I've planted the snow pea seeds after they had a good freeze. Now we get to wait and see if they come up.  The ground is plenty fertile and most of the other plants have died back now so there's little competition for nutrients. The only possible competitors would be the few carrots still sprouting up and growing.
I ate one of them yesterday with a little brown sugar and butter glaze and it was so much better than the store bought carrots. It had a more flavorful taste to it reminiscent of a sweet potato.  That reminds me that I really need to go check the potato patch and see if there's anything to dig up. You never know until you look.

Spring Sprouts

We planted the back beds almost two weeks ago and already have quite a bit coming up.  Fortunately it rained while we were out of town and kept everything moist.
The chicken wire has effectively kept the cats out of the dirt.  They really don't like leaving things on top of the ground so when they realized they couldn't bury their oh so unwanted gifts they stopped leaving them.  The bean sprout is one of the more obvious ones since you can see the bean split on the plant.

The larger green sprouts are the beets and the smaller ones are the radishes.  The spiky sandy shoots are from the potatoes but won't make anything edible for a while whereas the beets and radishes could be eaten rather soon.
There are also some beets on the side of the house that are further along and could be used in a salad or possibly pulled and cooked.

Raised Beds in the Garden

We've been working for a few days now geting the raised beds ready for planting. We've removed most of the grass from the tiled area and entirely replaced the wood on the back bed.  The weather and bugs had reduced the wood to pulp and a few splinters.  the middle bed needs a little repair but will last the season and can be replaced next year or maybe in the fall.

After replacing the wood on the last bed we also  put chicken wire over the top to make it less desireable for the local cat population since newly tilled soil, especially soil that is still that sandy is often seen as a large litter box.  After we put down the wire we began planting sandy loving seeds and starters, mainly in the onion family.
We planted a whole corner with garlic from a few bulbs we  had lying around that were neededing to be replaced anyway.  We also planted onion seeds in about half of it.
Potatoes are also good in a sandy soil although they need more room. We planted a few in the back of the back bed and will see how they do.

Leek, Zucchini and Potato Soup

We made a nice veggie soup yesterday (with chicken stock).
We cut up the light part of the leeks into thin slices and sauteed it in oil with garlic until tender. Added the potato, only one, cut up into small cubes and two cups of stock. Cooked it down for a little more than 20 minutes until the veggies were soft and threw it in the blender.
It still needed a little more salt
I also added a little shredded cheese to it to make it creamier. I should have added bacon but then it would have been even fattier so I refrained.
Had it again today for lunch.